Reports

U.S. Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective

The 55-page report, “Out of Step: US Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective,” examines the laws of 136 countries around the world with populations of 1.5 million and above and finds that the majority—73 of the 136—never, or rarely, deny a person’s right to vote because of a criminal conviction. In the other 63 countries, the United States sits at the restrictive end of the spectrum, disenfranchising a broader swath of people overall.

People stand in line to vote

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  • July 15, 2013

    Barriers to Education for Persons with Disabilities in China

    This 75-page report documents the struggles of children and young people with disabilities to be educated in mainstream schools in their communities.

  • June 27, 2013

    Mass Rehousing and Relocation Programs in Tibetan Areas of China

    Since 2006, under plans to “Build a New Socialist Countryside” in Tibetan areas, over two million Tibetans have been “rehoused” – through government-ordered renovation or construction of new houses – in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), while hundreds of thousands of nomadic herders in the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau have been relocated or settled in “New Socialist Villages.”

  • June 26, 2013

    Ill-treatment and Torture of Vulnerable Groups in Lebanese Police Stations

    This 66-page report focuses on torture and ill-treatment by the Internal Security Forces (ISF), particularly the Drug Repression Bureau and members of the ISF who enforce “morality-related” laws against drug users, sex workers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

  • June 23, 2013

    Detention, Abuse, and Neglect of Migrant Children in Indonesia

    This 86-page report details Indonesia’s poor treatment of migrant and asylum-seeking children. They arrive in Indonesia after fleeing persecution, violence, and poverty in Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and elsewhere. Indonesia detains hundreds of migrant and asylum-seeking children each year without giving them a way to challenge their detention.
  • June 21, 2013

    Unfair Trials Based on Confessions to the Police in Morocco

    This 100-page report examined five trials between 2009 and 2013 of a total of 77 people – including protesters seeking reform, Western Sahara activists, and persons accused of plotting terrorism.

  • June 20, 2013

    Restraints on Freedom of Association in Bahrain

    This 87-page report examines restrictive laws and policies that stifle civic and political groups and trade unions. The report shows how authorities use unjust laws to restrict freedom of association by arbitrarily rejecting registration applications and intrusively supervising independent organizations.
  • June 18, 2013

    Discrimination against Sex Workers, Sexual and Gender Minorities, and People Who Use Drugs in Tanzania

    This 98-page report documents abuses including torture, rape, assault, arbitrary arrest, and extortion. The organizations found that the fear of abuse is driving sex workers, people who use drugs, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people away from prevention and treatment services.

  • June 12, 2013

    Greek Police Abuses of Migrants in Athens

    The 52-page report documents frequent stops of people who appear to be foreigners, unjustified searches of their belongings, insults, and, in some cases, physical abuse. Many are detained for hours in police stations pending verification of their legal status.
  • June 5, 2013

    Students and Schools under Attack in Syria

    This 33-page report is based on more than 70 interviews, including with 16 students and 11 teachers who fled Syria, primarily from Daraa, Homs, and greater Damascus. The report documents the use of schools for military purposes by both sides.

  • June 4, 2013

    Reforming Zimbabwe’s Security Sector Ahead of Elections

    This 44-page report describes how Zimbabwe’s military and other security forces have interfered in the country’s political and electoral affairs in support of President Robert Mugabe and his political party, ZANU-PF, preventing Zimbabweans from exercising their rights to free expression and association and to vote.
  • May 29, 2013

    Kenyan Police Abuse of Refugees in Nairobi

    This 68-page report was based on interviews with 101 refugees, asylum seekers, and Kenyans of Somali ethnicity.
  • May 27, 2013

    Women’s Rights in the New Libya

    This 40-page report highlights key steps that Libya should take to meet its international obligations by firmly rejecting gender-based discrimination in both law and practice.

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  • May 23, 2013

    Mozambique’s Coal Mining Boom and Resettlements

    This 122-page report examines how serious shortcomings in government policy and mining companies’ implementation uprooted largely self-sufficient farming communities and resettled them to arid land far from rivers and markets. These communities have experienced periods of food insecurity or, when available, dependence on short-term food assistance financed by Vale and Rio Tinto.

  • May 22, 2013

    The Harmful Impact of US Border Prosecutions

    This 82-page report documents the negative impact of illegal entry and reentry prosecutions, which have increased 1,400 and 300 percent, respectively, over the past 10 years and now outnumber prosecutions for all other federal crimes. Over 80,000 people were convicted of these crimes in 2012, many in rapid-fire mass prosecutions that violate due process rights.

  • May 19, 2013

    Human Rights and Responsible Investment in Mobile and the Internet

    This 24-page report outlines steps necessary to promote adequate protections for Internet and mobile phone users in Burma, and ways to foster responsible investment in Burma’s telecom sector. In January 2013, the Burmese government announced plans to open the country’s telecom sector to foreign investment and is scheduled to award two nationwide licenses to companies by June 27.